Okay, I was thinking about it during work today and Mal's post back over in Inspirational Sites reminded me. I think I got a real solution here and the best part is that it plays off the Mecha Fen.
The solution, IMHO, lies in Eureka Seven.
In that anime, there exists in the atmosphere a damn-near magical substance called Transparent Light Particles, or Trapar for short. These particles were non-toxic, although in great densities it could displace actual atmosphere, but that was a rare occurrence. the thing is, though, that aircraft/ships and mecha could optionally 'surf' the trapar (it had the odd ability to react energetically with specially treated surfaces, producing lift) or simply pass though it as long as it wasn't too much denser than the air. Normally, in the anime, they were worried about the trapar not being thick enough.
All that said, what if the Fen could apply it to the atmosphere of Mars? It could be used to improve the viscosity of the atmosphere, especially in the higher altitudes where that would be very useful. *Recalls a certain incident involving the Soviets.* And, hey! Sky-surfing mecha! (And just sky-surfing in general.) What's not to love about that?
The solution, IMHO, lies in Eureka Seven.
In that anime, there exists in the atmosphere a damn-near magical substance called Transparent Light Particles, or Trapar for short. These particles were non-toxic, although in great densities it could displace actual atmosphere, but that was a rare occurrence. the thing is, though, that aircraft/ships and mecha could optionally 'surf' the trapar (it had the odd ability to react energetically with specially treated surfaces, producing lift) or simply pass though it as long as it wasn't too much denser than the air. Normally, in the anime, they were worried about the trapar not being thick enough.
All that said, what if the Fen could apply it to the atmosphere of Mars? It could be used to improve the viscosity of the atmosphere, especially in the higher altitudes where that would be very useful. *Recalls a certain incident involving the Soviets.* And, hey! Sky-surfing mecha! (And just sky-surfing in general.) What's not to love about that?